>  Hello Jim & All,
>At least two BEE=L commercial beekeepers use scales to weigh hives for
>various reasons. Michael Palmer and myself. Maybe Michael Palmer will
>comment?
>  I think Michael uses the mechanical Grainger scale. I am not sure but
>looked like the mechanical Grainger scale from the website photos.

Been away at the ESHPA meeting. Good time!

Yes, I do use the spring scale sold in the WW Grainger catalog. This 
is my post on Bee Source about feeding bees for winter. I've found 
that weighing each hive, gives me a much more accurate method of 
determining how much to feed. It also gives me an end of the year 
weight. The weight of honey harvested, minus the weight of the syrup 
fed, gives me a better indication of colony production...to be used 
for breeder queen selection.

Hope this simplifies an easy procedure that has really been over 
engineered on the previous posts. It really isn't rocket science. :-)
Mike


 >>On a recent thread, it was asked, "How much to feed my 
bees...until they won't take any more?"

I said that I thought you can feed too much. Too much is wastful, and 
not good for the bees, as it plugs the broodnest. Of course, not 
everyone will agree. That's OK. Afterall, this is about beekeeping, 
and beekeeping is local, and everyone has their own opinion and spin.

Opinions aside, I would like to show how I approach the problen of 
"How much to feed for winter."

Most of us lift the backs of the hives, to judge how much weight the 
bees have. Very light hives, and very heavy hives are easily judged 
as being light or heavy. The borderline hives are not so easy to 
tell. Also, not everyone has the same upper body strength. So, Your 
heavy might be another's medium. When not sure, feed, right? Feed a 
couple gallons...just to make sure? If I fed all my colonies a couple 
extra gallong..."Just to make sure," I could easily spend thousands 
of dollars...dollars coming right off my bottom line for the year.

How to come closer to the correct weight? Weigh your hives.

Through trial and error, come up with a target weight. A weight that 
will allow your bees to get through whatever winter it is that you 
have in your beekeeping area. Feed light hives enough to reach that 
target weight.

When I first started weighing hives in the fall (1983), I used a 
simple spring scale.

<http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff61/frenchhill/springscale1.jpg>http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/f...ringscale1.jpg

This setup worked well, although it required two people to weigh each hive.

<http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff61/frenchhill/springscale2.jpg>http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/f...ringscale2.jpg

After some 20 years of weighing hives in this manor, I found that my 
shoulders were toast!. I still have trouble reaching around for the 
seatbelt, or raising my arms over my head. I really had to find 
another way. I thought long and hard, but always with the idea of 
lifting each hive to weigh it.

The idea came to me in my sleep...or half sleep...as many ideas do.

Why lift the hive?

Now I use a commercial package scale. Instead of lifting the hives, I 
tip them up onto the scale. I just finished weighing and feeding on 
Wednesday. I go ahead of my crew, and weigh each hive, marking the 
weight on the back of the hive...next to the other statistics fot the 
current year. My help comes through with syrup and feeders the next day.

This is a shot of the scale I use.

<http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff61/frenchhill/packagescale1.jpg>http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/f...kagescale1.jpg

You would have to work with whatever type hive stand you use. I use 
2x4 stands, which are the same height as my outer covers. I lay the 
hives outer cover on the ground, at the end of the stand. Note the 
scale is on a piece of plywood...so it can sit on the stand. I also 
have a small piece of plywood on the scale..to help spread out the weight.

This stand only has one hive, so I use the stand to hold the scale.

<http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff61/frenchhill/packagescale2.jpg>http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/f...kagescale2.jpg

Tip the hive sideways, and slide the scale under the raised edge of 
the bottom board.

<http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff61/frenchhill/weighinghives1.jpg>http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/f...hinghives1.jpg
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/f...hinghives2.jpg

Tip the hive up onto the scale, read the weight, let the hive down, 
and remove the scale.

<http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff61/frenchhill/weighinghives3.jpg>http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/f...hinghives3.jpg

As you can see, even tall hives, and those weighing 200+ pounds, can 
be weighed with little effort.

So, what's your target weight? Mine has been 150 for many years, but 
I've noticed more light hives in the spring in recent years, so this 
year I raised my target to 160. Not sure if this increased 
consumption is due to the weather, or my breeding program selecting 
for strong, broody bees. Probably the later. 10 pounds extra weight 
is surely worth the cost, when considering the difference in honey 
production between the spring brood counts in colonies wirh 5 or 6 
combs of brood at Dandelion, and those with 9 or 10.

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